Robotic scavenger Bandicoot claws to clean choked manholes in Vizag

In order to effectively substitute manual scavenging of manholes and Underground Drainage (UGD) system, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) has procured machines to clean the choked drains across the city. On Monday, the civic body flagged off the scavenging robot, Bandicoot, to de-clog the UGD manholes at Seven Hills Hospital Road in Vizag.

During the event, GVMC Commissioner, Dr G Srijana, along with GVMC Chief Engineer, M Venkateswara Rao and other engineering officials, reviewed the working of the robot. Taking to Twitter, the civic body shared, “GVMC Commissioner, Dr G Srijana inspecting the UGD equipment procured by GVMC to eradicate the practice of human-beings entering into manholes, as a part of Safai Mitra Suraksha to transform Manhole to Machine hole.”

Touted to be a piece of revolutionary equipment in the cleaning system of the country, the robot is capable of clearing the manholes up to 10-meters in depth with utmost precision and minimal supervision. Weighing about 80 kilograms, the Bandicoot consists of two components, the control unit, and the drone unit. The control unit consists of the console to operate the robot. The drone unit is the one that enters the manhole. The unit consists of legs to provide movement inside the hole, arms to pick up the waste matter, a bucket to collect the waste, and a camera with night vision to enable staff to monitor the work.

Apart from the scavenging robot, Bandicoot, High-Pressure Jetting machines, and other equipment worth Rs 3 crore have been handed over to the Water Supply Department of the GVMC, Vizag, on Monday. It may be recalled that the machinery was presented to the city under the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge, which has been adopted in 243 urban communities and towns across the country. In a previous interaction with Yo! Vizag, K Venu Gopal, the Superintending Engineer of Water supply & Underground Drainage Management, GVMC, informed that the use of such robots is intended to eradicate the harmful and dangerous environments in which the sanitation workers tend to find themselves, subsequently reducing the lives lost in the process.